“Some fear that more enrollment decreases overall scores, but we have seen the opposite,” Bailey said. “Many districts pick and choose the top-performing students in their classes to take the AP test, but in our district, all AP students take the tests. Our data has shown improvement.”
“We’re an attractive district that attracts high-level teachers,” Bailey said.
WLWV’s hiring process is very selective, and every teacher hired must interview the superintendent, a practice not used by most districts. As a result, according to Bailey, the teachers in the district are the most qualified and consistently receive recognition from organizations such as College Board.
This is the third school year in which the College Board has assigned AP Honor Roll status to school districts, and the second in which WLWV has been recognized. Bailey hopes that next year, the district will be recognized again.
“I can’t predict how well [our students] will score on the tests,” Bailey said, “but enrollment has significantly improved, so we will be very competitive for this award next year.”